(NIH): Treating underlying inflammatory conditions may
reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
A new study published online in JAMA Cardiology
found that anti-inflammatory biologic therapies used to treat
moderate to severe psoriasis can significantly reduce coronary inflammation in
patients with the chronic skin condition.
The researchers analyzed 134 patients, from an ongoing,
prospective cohort study at NIH, the Psoriasis Atherosclerosis Cardiometabolic
Initiative cohort, who suffered moderate to severe psoriasis and had not
received biologic treatment for at least three months before starting on the
study’s therapy. Fifty-two of these patients were treated with topical or light
therapies only and served as the control group.
The 134 patients, all of whom had low cardiovascular
risk, underwent CT scans at the start of the study and again a year later to
assess coronary inflammation using the perivascular fat attenuation index (FAI).
A significant reduction in coronary inflammation was
found among those receiving biologic therapy, but there was no change in the
control group. Even patients with preexisting coronary artery plaque saw a
reduction in coronary inflammation following biologic therapy. An abnormal
perivascular FAI was linked to a 6- to 9-fold increased risk of major adverse
cardiovascular events.
Coronary artery inflammation particularly affects
perivascular fat by changing its composition, making it attenuated, or less
fatty, as captured by the perivascular FAI.
According to the authors, FAI is a novel imaging
biomarker that can predict a patient’s risk of fatal heart attacks and other
cardiac events years in advance, and independent of other traditional risk
factors for heart disease
(Source: NIH, July 31, 2019)
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri Awardee
President Elect Confederation of
Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania
(CMAAO)
Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President Heart Care Foundation of
India
Past National President
IMA
No comments:
Post a Comment